Omari Hardwick has graduated from rising supporting actor to legitimate bankable star with his gripping portrayal of James “Ghost” St. Patrick on the long-running cable series “Power.”
But fans took umbrage with Hardwick referring to Chadwick Boseman, who died last week at 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer, as a “competitor” while was eulogizing the Black Panther star. Some fans believe that Hardwick used the tribute to boost himself and fired off some brutal tweets in response.
“One of my biggest honors was being one of your biggest competitors and an even bigger friend,” Hardwick, 46, said during a long Instagram post for his 3.7 million followers.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CEe0H45lP2r/?utm_source=ig_embed
Like a German Shepherd, fans’ ears went straight up with that one sentence, and they dug their canines into Hardwick’s hide.
“I know damn well Omari Hardwick’s Walmart $2-for-5 movie bin movie makin a– did not get his Bigen hairline and beard havin a– on Denzel Washington’s internet and make a Chadwick Boseman ‘tribute’ post all about himself?!” wrote irate Twitter fan @realblackgirl1.
She continued: “And b— I KNOW you the f— LYING when this man said Chadwick was one of his ‘biggest competitors’. Sir, you played as Janet’s DL husband in a Tyler Perry movie and your big break was playing a f—— drug dealer on tv that got ZERO Emmy noms. Sit yo clown a– DOWN.”
And @realblackgirl1 apparently wasn’t alone in feeling that Hardwick used the tribute gesture for shameless self-aggrandizement.
The difference is huge. #ChadwickBoseman was so selfless that he didn’t even want the world to know he was sick & advocated for others constantly.#OmariHardwick used this man’s death to pass the torch to himself. https://t.co/aJpoXjxho5
— Danesha Little (@DLittlewriter) September 1, 2020
Hardwick took so much grief from fans that he finally fired back in self-defense.
This should have stayed in the drafts, bruh!🤬 #OmariHardwick pic.twitter.com/CpSKHE2af3
— NeNe ✨#Team♑✨ (@AdorzAaliyah94) September 1, 2020
Flip the page to see what else Hardwick had to say about his alleged self-promotion.
